I love my project

This story is by Eunice, a remarkable young girl from South Korea, whose family lives in both the U.S. and Korea. Eunice is now in her senior year at a private high school in America and was part of InterestEng.’s international civics class.

I LIVE in the middle school dorm at our school and I noticed that many of
the middle schoolers have trouble getting used to living away from their
parents. It is their first time away from their parents and thus
homesickness is a big issue in our dorm. I would often encounter
students crying at night because they miss their parents.

A new student from Kenya arrived yesterday. On the outside, she smiled a
lot and seemed to enjoy her first night in the dorm, but I know that in
the inside, she is scared and misses her family very much.

To
help the middle schoolers deal with homesickness or any other problems
they are going through, for my project I decided to go into each student’s room for a
brief conversation every night. I say good night and then have a
conversation about anything from how their day was, to anything they
want to talk about, to let them know I am always here for them. There are 5 girl rooms with 2 students
in each room, so it takes some time to talk to everyone, but it’s worth it.

Initially, the middle school students would say good night and say they
were doing well and nothing else. However, as it became a nightly
routine, some started opening up with a run-down of their days, venting
out any issues with friends, or asking how I was doing. There was one
day I couldn’t check up on everyone and the next day, everyone was
asking me what happened. They were telling me that they were waiting
for me to come in for a long time and that I needed to come in tonight,
because they had a lot to tell me about. I felt badly for not being able
to go in their rooms that one day, but I felt loved and felt like an
integral part of their lives. Some students are still quiet and
reserved, but I am confident that having someone check up on them and
say out loud that they care, means a lot. I love my project
and I will be continuing with it long after our civics class is over!